Lopez had a pretty severe knee sprain — with partially torn ligaments — after teammate Jared Dudley fell into him on Nov 14. It wasn’t something that required surgery, it just took time. The Suns went out and got Earl Barron to help out in the middle while Lopez was out. But Barron is cannot touch Lopez defensively.

Now Lopez should be back with the pinched nerve bothering his right leg and the sprained knee in his left fully healed. If he can protect the rim a little better, the Suns may improve on their 5-5 record over their last 10.